Equality groups put pressure on firms ignoring job legislation

Pressure is being put on the government to withhold contracts for the 77% of top companies that ignore their legal duty to operate equality practices for people from ethnic minorities or with disabilities.

While the national employment rate is 75%, it drops to 59% for ethnic minorities, a meeting in London will be told today.

Committed2Equality (C2E) which was set up to examine discrimination laws said most companies paid lip service to the law and the situation for many minorities seeking work is as bad as ever.

"Many businesses skirt around equality issues or have no processes," said Janet Lakhani, its chief executive. The only way to make employers take their responsibilities seriously was to withhold government and local authority contracts.

"With a government committed to increase employment for disadvantaged groups it is glaringly obvious; they should expect their suppliers to meet legal and statutory obligations," she said. "Supplying the public sector is big business. Over 330,000 businesses rely on income from either central or local government."

To highlight the 16% gap between ethnic minority groups in work and the population overall, 16 job-seekers from different groups have been gathered by Talent, the employment agency that specialises in this field, to talk about their problems finding work.

Also attending will be Afsana Shukur, former head of the Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force. "It is difficult to prove discrimination," she said, "but there is still a lot that employers could do." She said that males from Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Afro-Caribbean backgrounds fared worst in the job market.

An employment lawyer, Chuka Umanna, said the representation of ethnic minorities in City boardrooms was pitiful. He did not believe that senior City personnel were racist but that it was "more of an issue of culture and class".

According to C2e, 3,000 (77%) of the largest companies - those employing more than 250 people - who invoice an estimated £5bn to £6bn each year, fail to meet equality and diversity obligations. Ms Lakhani said that the government could play a more proactive part. "There should be a cabinet minister for equality."

The government acknowledges that there is a problem. Margaret Hodge, minister for work, said: "Too many graduates from ethnic minority communities are being left behind."

Equality organisations argue that there are sound financial reasons for abiding by the laws. By next year, companies in the UK are expected to be paying £360m in costs for actions brought under the laws. Costs have grown by 70% from £150m to £210m since 2002 and around 10% of UK organisations have been subject to a claim for discrimination in the last seven years.

With age discrimination outlawed from October this year, claims are likely to rise. Sex and disability discrimination are the two major areas which lead to actions which cost firms an average of £10,000.